SUBMISSION

Ephesians 6:10a “Finally, be strong in the Lord” (NASB). “Finally, be strong” (NIV). “Finally, be strong” (ESV). When I first began to study Ephesians 6:10-20, I was surprised to discover that the Greek verb translated ‘be strong’ was in the passive voice. (Please see the appendix, “The Three Sisters,” fora comparison of the three verbal voices.) The passive voice denotes that the subject of the verb(‘you’) receives the action of the verb, which is ‘to make strong’. This means that we receive the strength, that we are made strong. A better translation, therefore, is ‘be empowered,’ or ‘be strengthened.' Zech 4:6 and contrast between our might and power and His Spirit Furthermore, an even stronger representation of the passivity of the verb, because the verb is an imperative (a command or a plea), would be ‘let yourselves be empowered,’ or ‘let yourselves be strengthened.’ There is, therefore, a process of submission that becomes the key to empowerment. Power is available, but empowerment only comes through a process of submission. Submission is the conduit of the kingdom. A Roman soldier (or any soldier, in fact) is only empowered by the emperor when he is acting in submission to the emperor’s expressed will. Any other actions are deemed as insubordination and are punishable by the commanding officers or a military court. Thus, a Roman soldier had freedom, but only within clearly defined limits imposed upon him by his superiors and ultimately the emperor. Likewise, a Christian is only empowered by God when he is acting in submission to God. Actions outside the scope of God’s will are acts of insubordination and are subject to discipline and punishment. Submission empowers us to act freely within the clearly defined limits of God’s expressed will. Thus, the submission that Paul addresses is a surrender to the sovereignty of God. Therefore, submission is much more than intellectual assent! Submission is an ongoing, every-moment-of-every-day process of surrender to God’s will. It is for this reason that the verb ‘empower’ is in the present tense, which denotes an action that continues. This is exactly what Paul commanded the Philippians: “Continually work out [present tense] your deliverance with fear and trembling, for God is the One continually working [present tense] in you, both to desire and to work for His pleasure” (2:12-13). Submission, expressed through surrender, is meant to permeate every facet of our lives. Now Paul has already addressed submission in terms of church, gender, employment, and family in chapters 5:15-6:9. But finally, he addresses the most important issue. For the ultimate submission is to “the presence of the Lord and the sovereignty of His might” (6:10). Listen! God is always sovereign; God is always present; His power never subsides or turns off. But, in order to let ourselves be empowered, we must, as we shall see, submit to the reality of His sovereign presence over our lives and our circumstances. As long as we live in submission to His sovereign rule over us, we are the continual recipients of His strength. “Finally, let yourselves be continually empowered” (Ephesians 6:10a).